Four remanded on ricin terror charges as six more arrested

Three men and a 17-year-old youth appeared before a district judge yesterday charged with attempting to produce the lethal toxin ricin to develop a chemical weapon.

The hearing at Bow Street magistrates court in central London came as police announced that six other people had been arrested in its investigation into an alleged terrorist plot, though sources played down the significance of the move.

Samir Feddag, 33, Mouloud Feddag, 18, Mustapha Taleb, 33, and a 17-year-old youth who cannot be identified for legal reasons, were charged on Saturday, six days after they were arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 and questioned about the discovery of a small amount of ricin at a flat in Wood Green, north London.

At court yesterday, the four spoke only to confirm their names and addresses during a 30-minute hearing in front of district judge Timothy Workman.

The court was told that the address on record for Samir Feddag was in Algiers and he replied that he was of no fixed abode in this country.

Taleb gave an address in Finsbury Park, north London, and Mouloud Feddag in High Road, Wood Green, north London.

The four each face a charge under section 57 of the Terrorism Act that on or before January 5 this year they possessed "articles ... which give rise to a reasonable suspicion that (this) was for a purpose connected with the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism". They also each face a joint charge under the Chemical Weapons Act 1996 that on or before January 5 this year they were "concerned in the development or production of a chemical weapon".

Susan Hemming, prosecuting, said she did not intend to go through the facts of the case at this early stage of the court process. Lawyers for the defendants did not apply for bail but warned that the huge publicity surrounding the arrests must be tempered.

Judge Workman remanded the four in custody until Friday, when they are due to appear at the Old Bailey. A fifth man arrested with the group on January 5 appeared separately to face two charges under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981.

Nasreddine Fekhardji, 36, of Finsbury Park, north London, is accused of having a fake French passport and identity card and was remanded in custody.

Scotland Yard's anti-terrorist branch, working with officers from Dorset police, arrested five men and a woman on Sunday in connection with the ricin inquiry and searched two homes in Bournemouth.

Police said that "no chemical material was found at the premises" and a local detective, Chief Supt Bob Boulton, insisted there was no cause for alarm.

Though the arrests were linked to the ricin investigation, it is understood the six in custody were yesterday being asked about allegations of possessing false papers and documents.